WĀSIT̤AH (واسطة). A thing or person intervening; an agent; a broker. Hence, a mediator.
WAṢL (وصل). “Meeting; union.” A Ṣūfī term used for the seventh stage in the spiritual journey, when the mystic, as it were, sees the Divine One face to face. The stage previous to fanāʾ, or extinction in the essence of the Eternal One. [[SUFI].]
WASWASAH (وسوسة). Lit. “Inspiring,” or “suggesting.” A suggestion from the devil. The machinations of the devil, to the consideration of which a chapter is devoted in the Traditions. (Mishkāt, book i. ch. iii.)
Muḥammad said, “There is not a single child of man, except Mary and her son, who is not touched by the devil at the time of his birth, and hence the child makes a loud cry when he is born, nor is there one human being who has not a devil appointed to attend him. The devil sticks close to the sons of Adam, and also an angel; the business of the devil is to do evil, and that of the angel to guide them unto truth.”
WATER. Arabic māʾ (ماء), pl. miyāh, amwāh. Heb. מַיִם mayim, waters. In the Qurʾān, [Sūrah xxi. 31], it is said, “We clave them (the heavens and the earth) asunder, and by means of water, We gave life to everything.” Which, as Sprenger (vol. i. p. 30n) remarks, is one of the principles of the Ebionite doctrine. Al-Baiẓāwī says it means either that God made all animals from water, or that the chief element in animal life is water, or that animal life is supported chiefly by water.
Muḥammadan writers say there are seven kinds of water which are lawful for the purposes of purification and drinking:—
Māʾu ʾl-mat̤ar, rain-water.
Māʾu ʾl-ʿain, spring-water.
Māʾu ʾl-bīʾr, well-water.
Māʾu ʾl-barad, hail-water.
Māʾu ʾs̤-s̤alj, snow-water.
Māʾu ʾl-baḥr, sea-water.
Māʾu ʾn-nahr, river-water.
Water which is considered lawful for ablution is also lawful for drinking, and vice versâ. Ibn ʿUmar relates that Muḥammad was asked about the water of the plains in which animals go to drink, &c., and he said, “When the water is equal to two qullahs, it is not impure.” ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq says two qullahs are equal to 250 mans. (Mishkāt, Matthew’s ed., vol. i. p. 107.) [[WELLS].]
Mr. Sell, in his Faith of Islam, says:—
“Minute regulations are laid down with regard to the water which may be used for purification. The following kinds of water are lawful:—rain, sea, river, fountain, well, snow, and ice-water. Ice is not lawful. The first kind is authorised by the Qurán. ‘He sent you down water from heaven that He might thereby cleanse you, and cause the pollution of Satan to pass from you.’ ([Súra viii. 11].) The use of the others is sanctioned by the Traditions. I give one illustration. A man one day came to the Prophet and said: ‘I am going on a voyage and shall only have a small supply of fresh water; if I use it for ablutions I shall have none wherewith to quench my thirst, may I use sea-water?’ The Prophet replied: ‘The water of the sea is pure.’ Tirmízí states that this is a Hadís-i-Sahíh. Great difference of opinion exists with regard to what constitutes impurity in water, and so renders it unfit for ablutions. It would be wearisome to the reader to enter into all details, but I may briefly say that, amongst the orthodox, it is generally held that if a dead body or any unclean thing falls into flowing water, or into a reservoir more than 15 feet square, it can be used, provided always that the colour, smell, and taste are not changed. It is for this reason that the pool near a mosque is never less than ten cubits square. If of that size, it is called a dah dar dah (literally 10 × 10). It may be, and commonly is, larger than this. It should be about one foot deep.”